Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Pickerel?

\Pick"er*el\, n. [Dim. of {Pike}.] [Written also {pickerell}.] 1. A young or small pike. [Obs.] Bet [better] is, quoth he, a pike than a pickerel. --Chaucer. 2. (Zo["o]l.) (a) Any one of several species of freshwater fishes of the genus {Esox}, esp. the smaller species. (b) The glasseye, or wall-eyed pike. See {Wall-eye}. Note: The federation, or chain, pickerel ({Esox reticulatus}) and the brook pickerel ({E. Americanus}) are the most common American species. They are used for food, and are noted for their voracity. About the Great Lakes the pike is called pickerel. {Pickerel weed} (Bot.), a blue-flowered aquatic plant ({Pontederia cordata}) having large arrow-shaped leaves. So called because common in slow-moving waters where pickerel are often found.